Ryan Callahan
| birth_place = Rochester, New York | draft = 127th overall | draft_year = 2004 | draft_team = New York Rangers | career_start = 2006 }} Ryan Callahan (born on March 21, 1985) is an American ice hockey forward and the captain of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing Career Ryan played one year of high school hockey for Hilton High School. He began his junior career with the Rochester Junior Americans of the Empire Junior B Hockey League where he played for two seasons from 1999–2001. Then, he moved on to the Syracuse Jr. Crunch and Buffalo Lightning of the OPJHL before moving onto a four-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) stint with the Guelph Storm where he played alongside future Ranger teammate Daniel Girardi. Ryan turned professional with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) where he played most of the 2006–07 season. On November 28, 2006, he received his first NHL call-up to and made his NHL debut on December 1, 2006 but he would only play in that one game before being sent back down to the Wolf Pack. Ryan was called up for a second time on December 19, but he would again only play in one NHL game in that stint. Toward the end of the season, he was called up for the third and final time on March 15, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 AHL games, and he would stay with the Rangers through the postseason. Two days later, on March 17, 2007, Ryan scored his first two NHL goals against Joey MacDonald of the Boston Bruins. He scored his first career assist on March 21, 2007 and first career game-winning goal on April 1, 2007. Ryan scored his first two NHL playoff goals in a 7–0 win in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Atlanta Thrashers on April 17, 2007. After scoring one goal in the first eight games of the 2007–08 season with the Rangers, Ryan was out for a month with a grade two knee sprain. He didn't quickly regain his strength at the NHL level, going his next 16 games without a goal, so the Rangers sent him back to the Wolf Pack on January 7, 2008. After 11 games in Hartford, he was called up on February 3 to replace an injured Brendan Shanahan in the Rangers' line-up against the Montreal Canadiens. Ryan tallied his second career two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks on February 17. he scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds remaining to help clinch the Victoria Cup for the Rangers during an exhibition game in Switzerland. The following season was Ryan's breakout year. On October 1, 2008, he scored the game-winning goal for the New York Rangers with 20 seconds left in the inaugural Victoria Cup. The Rangers defeated Metallurg Magnitogorsk by a 4-3 tally. In the regular season, he was third on the Rangers with 22 goals and fifth on the team with 40 total points during the regular season. He was awarded the Rangers' Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for his hard work throughout the season and scored the winning goal in the team's playoff-clinching win in the final home game of the season. On July 13, 2009, Ryan was re-signed by the Rangers. On October 2, 2009, he was named an alternate captain of the Rangers. On January 1, 2010, he was named to the United States Olympic team in which he earned a silver medal in Vancouver. On December 15, 2010, Ryan suffered a broken hand on December 15, 2010, in Pittsburgh when he blocked a shot. He missed nineteen games while recovering. On March 6, 2011, Ryan scored four goals and one assist as the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0, simultaneously achieving the first hat trick, four-goal game, and five-point game of his NHL career. Then he suffered a broken ankle in the team's 79th game of the season against the Boston Bruins after blocking a Zdeno Chara slapshot in the final minutes. On September 12, 2011, Ryan was named the 26th captain in the history of the New York Rangers when he was 26 years old. He is the fifth youngest captain in team history and the first homegrown captain since Brian Leetch in October of 1997. He is also the first native of New York state to serve as the Rangers team. On February 11, 2012, Ryan scored his second hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers. On February 25, 2012, Ryan scored his 100th career goal in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden. In the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ryan led the Rangers to their first Conference Finals appearance since 1997. He scored the first and last goals of the Rangers postseason. Career Statistics Awards & Achievements *2004–05: Third All-Star Team (OHL) *2005–06: Second All-Star Team (OHL) *2005–06: Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy (OHL) *2006–07: All-Star Team (AHL) *2006–07: All-Rookie Team (AHL) *2008-09: Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (NHL) *2009-10: Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (NHL) *2011-12: Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (NHL) *2012-13: Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (NHL) Career Transactions *June 27, 2004: Drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round, 127th overall *July 27, 2011: Signed a three-year contract worth $12.825 million with the New York Rangers. *September 12, 2011: Named the 26th team captain of the Rangers. Personal Life Ryan lists Brendan Shanahan as his favorite player growing up. Category:1985 births Category:New York Rangers players Category:New York Rangers draft picks Category:Hartford Wolf Pack players Category:Guelph Storm players Category:American ice hockey players